Obsession 2026
Curry Barker's word-of-mouth hit keeps climbing week over week. One industry figure Sean spoke to compared it to Easy Rider. It's on track to outgross Backrooms despite a fraction of the opening.
The Big Picture · Discussion · Review · Rankings
Mel at 100: The Mel Brooks Movie Rankings. Plus: ‘Scary Movie’ Is Terrifyingly Awful
June 9, 2026/ 112 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
Sean and Amanda open on a fifth straight boom weekend at the box office and a 'Scary Movie' reboot no one in the theater was laughing at, then Yasi Salek and Adam Nayman join to mark Mel Brooks's 100th birthday by ranking all 11 films he directed.
15 films across 3 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The box office boomfive straight weekends of ‘we're back’
Backrooms 2026
Kane Parsons's $80 million opening rode a built-in fan base, but the general public is cooling on it faster than on Obsession.
Masters of the Universe 2026
The He-Man movie made about $30 million, not a disaster on its own but a bomb against its IP and budget.
‘Scary Movie’the reboot at the top of the box office
Scary Movie 2026
A $55 million opening for supposedly dead IP, reuniting most of the original cast: Wayans brothers, Anna Faris, Regina Hall. Both hosts found it painfully unfunny and their audiences barely laughed, but the marketing works: a trailer stacked with references (Sinners, Smile, M3GAN, Longlegs) is enough. Sean's one defense is the livestream scene. The old satirists are now the veterans taking shots at younger filmmakers' work.
The Mel Brooks Movie Rankingswith Yasi Salek and Adam Nayman, on Brooks's 100th birthday · all 11 he directed
No. 1
Young Frankenstein 1974
No. 1. The consensus best-made of the 11: camera, lenses, sets, Peter Boyle's monster. Sean and Adam's pick; Amanda grants it's the finest achievement even if Blazing Saddles is her favorite.
No. 2
Blazing Saddles 1974
No. 2. The most important one, and the one older listeners name first. Richard Pryor in the writers' room, Madeline Kahn's Dietrich number; still bracing enough that Adam wants to screen it just to see what a room does with it.
No. 3
The Producers 1967
No. 3. The Oscar-winning script and his one fully original idea. More polished than anyone remembered; Springtime for Hitler lands harder for arriving 20 years after the war.
No. 4
Spaceballs 1987
No. 4. The most beloved, made because his kids wore out the Star Wars tapes. Bill Pullman doing Harrison Ford, Rick Moranis's Dark Helmet; Sean finds it over-reliant on its source.
No. 5
History of the World, Part I 1981
No. 5. The anthology format saves it: a weak sketch is only ten minutes from a good one. The Spanish Inquisition musical and the Viking funeral are the keepers.
No. 6
Robin Hood: Men in Tights 1993
No. 6, on sentiment. Cary Elwes spoofing his own Princess Bride shtick, Dave Chappelle at 19; the contemporary gags have a short shelf life.
No. 7
The Twelve Chairs 1970
No. 7. The forgotten one, a 1928 Russian novel turned Bolshevik buddy comedy. Frank Langella pre-Dracula; Yasi's soft spot, and the ending got her.
No. 8
High Anxiety 1977
No. 8. The Hitchcock homage, too reverent and too close to work: Hitch was already funny. Best when Brooks drops the parody and just sings the title song.
No. 9
Silent Movie 1976
No. 9. A blank-check tribute to silent cinema that cuts him off from his best tool, his voice. The Marcel Marceau gag is the highlight and the indictment.
No. 10
Life Stinks 1991
No. 10. The outlier: a sincere rich-man-goes-broke story, not a parody. Yasi defends it as a masterpiece; the others won't push it past 10.
No. 11
Dracula: Dead and Loving It 1995
No. 11, dead last, unanimous. Cheaply made, and Leslie Nielsen's magic didn't survive the trip from the ZAZ team to Brooks.
Also mentioned raised along the way
In the box-office talk Iron LungThe Devil Wears Prada 2Project Hail MaryThe OdysseyToy Story 5SupergirlSpider-Man: Brand New DayMoanaHereditaryEasy RiderBonnie and Clyde
Horror the new ‘Scary Movie’ spoofs ScreamGet OutM3GANHalloweenSmileLonglegsSinnersKPop Demon Hunters
Named in the Brooks conversation To Be or Not to BeThe Elephant ManThe FlyFrancesEraserheadJojo Rabbit2001: A Space OdysseyStar WarsThe Mandalorian and GroguTrading PlacesBrewster's MillionsThe Hudsucker ProxyPennies from HeavenDirty Rotten ScoundrelsThe Adventures of Robin HoodRobin Hood: Prince of ThievesRobin HoodThe Princess BrideAirplane!Top Secret!The Naked GunPolice AcademyBasic InstinctSpy HardRepossessedPlaytimeThe ArtistLove and DeathBoogie NightsHome AloneReality Bites
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Get SmartYour Show of ShowsThe SimpsonsSeinfeld30 RockParks and RecreationFamily GuyGame of ThronesThe MandalorianHistory of the World, Part IIAlly McBealThe Singing Detective
Web series The Amazing Digital Circus
Ads State FarmPepsi